'Knackered' Wiggins holds on to yellow jersey

Sir Bradley Wiggins held on to the yellow jersey in the Tour of California but admitted that Stage 3 had left him "a bit knackered".

The 2012 Tour de France winner and Olympic champion leads Rohan Dennis by 20 seconds after Dennis raced to the front in the closing stages to eat into Wiggins' lead, which he had started with an advantage of 44 seconds.

"This is the first time I have ridden in this type of heat in almost two years," said Wiggins, who faltered in the final rush and finished ninth on the stage. "It takes an adjustment. Actually, I am a bit knackered from it.

"My mission was to be in a position to limit any losses and not explode. It is why I was riding tempo, making sure no one got up the road.

"We did this climb a little over a week ago. I knew how it kicked up the last 300 meters. It was a tough climb. Every day is a tough day when you're in yellow."

The race resumes on Wednesday with a 102.6-mile stage from Monterey to Cambria, with the concluding stage taking place on Sunday.